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The guy gives him a thumbs-up. Kieran gets up on the carousel, puts his hand next to his mouth, and shouts, "Last round, everyone!" Then he promptly jumps back down.

But instead of waiting on the ground, he offers me his hand. He leads me to one of the bigger horses and helps me climb it, then jumps on the one next to it.

“I figured we should enjoy the last one after these past two days.” He explains and bridges the gap between our wooden horses. With a grin, I oblige his silent demand, pull his Santa beard down after I’ve made sure no kids are watching us, and give him a kiss.

Once said round is done, he gives Jefferson a thumbs-up, puts the register under his arm, and takes my hand. "Let's go!"

"Where?"

"I have to hand this in to Harry," he says, nodding at the register. "Then we’re going to get our dogs."

"Hey, Rose!" I greet the giant dog with a grin and run my hands through the fur on her back. "Did you get a lot of hugs today?"

"Oh, she was definitely the favorite," Henry explains, folding together one of their signs.

I kneel down next to Rose. "And who can blame them?" I throw my arms around her. She’s nice and warm.

"Oh, she's so huggable. If I didn't have two demanding cats, I would so take you home," Nic declares with a wistful glance our way.

"Hey," Henry teases, "Jensen is getting jealous."

"Let him," I say into Rose's fur. I love Henry’s dog, but he’s got an ego. He can take it. Suddenly, the Christmas music on the speakers gets louder. Then it stops completely, and Harry's voice echoes over the park.

"Time to gather in the square, everybody!"

"Huh?" My eyes dart from Rose to Kieran to Henry and Nic.

"Harry is going to declare the competition winner," Kieran explains, getting on his knees next to me to pet Rose too. "That's why I brought the register over to him."

"And they counted it up this quickly?" I whistle through my teeth. "Impressive."

"He’s nothing if not efficient. Let's go." Kieran picks up Sophia without me even having to ask him.

Now, Rose and Dick are big enough to hold their own in a crowd. Sophia, however, is a lot smaller and a lot more easily overlooked as we make our way to the main square.

"Hey, guys." As soon as we arrive, Lauren waves us over to one of the standing tables, filled with steaming mugs. Then she spots Erik and Kylie and waves them over as well. "Who of you is driving?"

Kieran, Erik and Henry hold up their hands.

"Then you get the non-alcoholic mulled wine. Nic, Kylie, Brooke, here you go." She holds hers over the middle of the table.

"Cheers." We all lift our mugs to clink them together. "To a successful Christmas market."

"To that." I take a sip. The wine is warm and velvety as it makes its way down my throat and sends heat back into my limbs.

"Goddamn, this is good," Kieran sighs as he sets down his mug. "If I do a carousel again next year, I'll need to get myself a booth. Jefferson is doing it right." He gestures with his mug. "You know, with a heater by my feet and a mountain of blankets I can bundle up under."

"Sounds like a solid plan," I agree with a soft nod. Standing the entire time is one thing, but doing it in the cold? Not something I feel the need to repeat.

A shrill tone makes all of us jump. "Sorry about that." Harry taps against his microphone, and thankfully, there’s no more shrill feedback this time.

The crowd murmurs, then goes quiet, everyone turning towards the stage.

Harry's wearing a Santa hat so long it reaches down to his butt, sorting a stack of index cards in his hand.

"Good evening, everyone." He lets the words linger until he has everyone’s attention, his gaze gliding over the crowd. "This year's Christmas market was a very special one. After the unfortunate tragedy struck Kinstead, this year marks the first time in both Wayward Hollow and Kinstead history of doing a Christmas market together. As unfortunate as the event is, I am happy to report that the Christmas market this year saw higher numbers than Wayward Hollow and Kinstead combined, ever."

I set down my mug to join the cheering and clapping.